Thanks to the tireless efforts of CNN and a million other news stations, we know how the recession is affecting AIG, Citi and other big industries but how is it affecting barbershops and hair salons. I know that barbershops are not on the Wall Street Journal`s radar, but they do serve a very important purpose in this fine country. Everybody needs to get their hair cut. Nobody likes walking around and looking like a bum. So I took to the Internet and the phones and I decided to see how the recession is affecting barbershops.

I hit up Facebook and SOHH.com and asked people if they are changing their routines when it comes to getting their hair cut. The most popular response that I received was that people are waiting longer to get their hair cut. Some guys have even learned to cut their own hair to save a couple of bucks. While speaking with Juan from After Hours Cuts in Marshall`s Creek, I asked him if business has slowed down. He told me that while the number of people has pretty much stayed the same, the amount that they tip has gone down.
I asked my cousin Justin about tips as well. He said that if he likes the barber he always tips his normal amount, but if its not his normal barber he only tips a dollar or two for a 15 dollar fade.

Barber shops may not be as important as Citi or AIG in the grand scheme of things, but they do serve a purpose in our society and so they deserve to get some attention as well. Business may stay at or around the same level it was before the recession, but if tips start to suffer then they feel it.

Looks like something is going around in the state of Pennsylvania. Penn State also had a case of a student being hospitalized for Bacterial meningitis and 200 students from Coolbaugh Elementary were out sick on Fri 3/27. The sickness isn`t just focused on schools either. The Shawnee playhouse canceled performances on Sat 3/28 and Sun 3/29 because of what they termed a mystery illness.

An off-campus male East Stroudsburg University student has been hospitalized at Pocono Medical Center with a case of bacterial meningitis. East Stroudsburg University and Pennsylvania State Health Department officials are working with his family to identify any person who may be at risk as a result of close physical contact. Students and faculty members who were in the student’s classes are being contacted individually. Current students who live on campus were required by Pennsylvania law to either be immunized against meningococcal disease or complete a waiver of exemption.

If you are experiencing any of the Symptoms of bacterial meningitis described below, you should go to a hospital emergency room or your personal physician immediately. Bacterial meningitis is a serious condition that can be life threatening if not properly treated. The important symptoms are:

The sexual harassment lawsuit filed against East Stroudsburg University, its trustees and current and former administrators is moving to federal court.

The state’s attorney general, which is defending ESU, its trustees and the administrators still working there, filed a motion on Friday asking the case to be moved to U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

“There’s no way state court can deal with federal issues,” said Nils Fredrickson, a spokesman for the attorney general. “It’s a matter for federal court — or it’s not a matter at all.”

I`m so proud that I spent a lot of money on tuition. Nothing like a gigantic clusterfrak to bring out the school pride. Time to throw the ESU hoodie into the back of the closet.

Tonight is the final episode of Sci-Fi Channel`s Battlestar Galactica. I just wanted to take a moment and pause on the end of the best fraking show on TV. Time called it the best TV show in 2005, and it has been a critical success since its premier in 2003. At first, I thought the show was going to be horrible. The original BSG was a horrible rip off of Star Wars and was a train wreck, but once I heard that multiple Hugo and Emmy award winner Ron Moore (whose credits include Star Trek Deep Space Nine which is the best Star Trek ever but I digress) was producing the show, I started to believe. The initial pilot mini series aired in 2003 and it was a bit slow, but it set up things things wonderfully. What followed after that four hour mini series was a show that lasted five seasons and spawned a two hour TV movie and two separate web exclusive mini series.

BSG took on all subjects from war to religion to abortion and handled everything beautifully. It is set on a spaceship and has robots but to just pigeonhole the show as science fiction is just wrong. BSG is a drama of the highest order with many great actors. Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell deserve the highest of praise for their work portraying Admiral. William Adama and President. Laura Roslin. Every great movie or television show starts with great actors and those two deserve all the praise in the world.

BSG is a great show that lives up to its hype. I`m sad that it is ending but I am happy that the powers that be at NBC allowed the show to continue to its natural conclusion, because while it had all the critical success in the world, its commercial success was not as good. This is a once in a lifetime show and will conclude tonight on the Sci Fi channel. It is a two hour finale and airs at 9pm eastern time.

That got me thinking about Roth, because as a fan of rap music I love to hear new and upcoming artists. I hit up his myspace, listened to his tracks and went on SOHH to try and got more information on Roth. Unfortunately, he is nowhere near as nice as all his hype suggests. Roth barely has any real flow and his lyrics are boring. (Right now I`m listening to “A Millie remix”) I was thinking of something creative to say about Roth but this comment on SOHH really sums up my thoughts about him.

Go through your old CD collection and look for Slim Shady LP, Marshall Mathers LP and the Eminem Show….Listen closely and imagine someone with half the talent, charisma and creativity doing a karaoke version of all 3 albums.

You’ve officially been put on to A. Roth

I really didn`t want to bring up Eminem, but it makes sense to compare Asher with him just like I would compare Fernando Martinez with David Wright or Alex Ochoa, when I think about how he is preforming in the Minor Leagues. For all the hate Eminem gets, Em is a world class rapper. His abilities and charisma are unmatched by anybody in the rap game and I grew up listening to Nas, Biggie, Wu Tang and Big Pun, so I think I know something about great rap music and rappers in general.

Asher is not a good rapper. Asher has one default flow and a definite lack of subject matter. I look at Roth as I do Soulja Boy. They both are not worth my wasting my time in listening to them or spending money to buy their music.

I know that title is very crude and I`m sure I should be more sensitive to all the stuff thats going on, but Rihanna is an extremely stupid woman.

Now, I`m sure that folks reading this are wondering why I said that. I think Rihanna is extremely stupid because she went back to Chris Brown. Sure he hasn`t been convicted in a court of law, and I have no idea about what really goes on behind closed doors, but in my humble opinion she is stupid for going back to him.

Here is what I know. I know that Rihanna and Brown were in a car when Brown allegedly knocked her around. I also know that a picture of her after the beating leaked and she looked like she pissed off Mike Tyson. (Old 90s era Iron Mike before the rape and not crappy biting off ears Mike).

If I were her, I`d leave him in a heart beat. Whether he beat her or not is up to a jury of Brown`s peers to decide but I think it is extremely stupid to willingly walk back into the same situation. Everybody (except Rihanna) knows about that lovely cliche about fooling me once and I want to announce to the world that this is the last time I care about her. I was never a fan of her music but as a human being I was concerned about her after I heard the news.

Right now I don`t care. In my opinion, her going back to Brown is akin to me walking into a lion`s den wearing a steak jacket or reaching for my wallet in front of the NYPD after dark. If he beats her or makes her his wife, I no longer care. Any sympathy, I might have had for her ended when the rumors of her going back to him started. If the rumors are proved false, then I will gladly take back anything I said about her, but until then I don`t care.

Christopher Wallace died on 3/9/97 and was one of the most best artists to ever come out of Brooklyn. Twelve years later, his music can still be heard in clubs and car stereos ever. His body may have died but his spirit will live forever.